Highlights

Campus News

Wildcat Weekly Minute for Nov. 17, 2011

A look at what's happening on campus this week.

Faith

Cleansed through the Cross

Dr. Quarles speaks on the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice at weekly chapel

Sports

LC hoops teams wrap up homestand with pair of wins

Off to Ozarks, UT-Dallas next

Organizations

LC media student give to Toys for Tots

More than 100 toys will help local charity

Campus Life

February is Heart Health Awareness Month

Stay healthy and 'God Red'

Culture

All the Shakespeare you could laugh at… and more!

tlc's adaptation of 'Shakespeare Abridged' pulls out all the stops

Special Coverage

LC brings another successful ‘Follow the Star’

'Christmas on the Hill' and 'Gala' add to festive weekend

“Christmas Letters from War” to honor U.S. military and preach truth of Christ

by Quinn Lavespere

Annual production set for Saturday.

The Louisiana College Theater Department will present its play, “Christmas Letters from War,” as part of Louisiana College’s 3rd annual “Follow the Star” event this year. The annual production will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday at Guinn Auditorium. Admission is free.

Written and directed by LC professor and Testify drama group director, Dr. Debrah “Pete” Richardson, “Christmas Letters from War” tells the story of a widowed mother named Marianne who hopes her son David II can come home from the war in Afghanistan for the Christmas holidays. The son and his mother keep in contact once a week through web cam and e-mail.

“While he’s over there, he decides to learn more about his family history, so his mother goes up to the attic and finds the war letters that his grandfather kept,” said Richardson. “She begins reading to him the letters his great-grandfather wrote in World War I, his grandfather wrote in World War II, and her father wrote in the Korean War, so the play carries us through two modern times.”

Richardson said that the idea for “Christmas Letters from War” was conceived through LC President, Dr. Joe Aguillard’s desire to honor the military and three real-life war letters she used for a Testify sketch.

“I told President Aguillard that I had the core to begin with, and it was from those letters that I extended the whole play,” said Richardson.

Richardson said that the incorporation of theatre into ministry helps reach today’s “very visual” people through dramatization of the Scriptures, as Christ, Himself used visualization through His parables to “teach people and help them see.”

“The Scriptures will reach people seeing a production who may not even come to church,” Richardson said. “That’s one of the reasons I do what it is I do, so we can show people all about who Jesus Christ is.”

Richardson described the set of the play as mostly “minimalist”, with the use of audiovisual slides, DVDs and music.

Cast members include Mary Evelyn Dirks as the widowed mother Marianne, Joseph Cole as her son David II, Candice Carr as Gina, a college student who is a friend of the family, Mason Hess as the voice of David II’s great-grandfather David I and Matthew Warren as the voice of Miles, David I’s grandfather.

Other cast members include John Willie, Hali Hunt, Rob Barker and KaLinda LeJune. Music, and singing will mostly be handled by the Louisiana College Chorale, the Red River Jazz Band and soloist Kellie Fuselier.

Assisting Dr. Richardson will be Dirks as the play’s assistant director, Jeff Young as producer and LeJune as choreographer. Dr. Fred Guilbert, who has a role in the play as Joe, a choir director, will serve as music director.

Richardson hopes that the play will inspire people to give more appreciation to the military.

“There are many in this country who do not fully appreciate the sacrifice that the military does for us,” Richardson said. “We owe these people so much, for they go where we cannot go.”

Richardson added that a local military general will specially bring members of the military to attend the play and has sent modern-day letters from Afghanistan and Iraq that will be displayed in the Guinn Auditorium foyer as attendees come in to see the play.

Richardson said she wants people to know that Louisiana College is a place where Jesus Christ is “the beginning and the end and is honored first and foremost.”

“Everything we do is to honor Him, even our productions,” Richardson said. “I want people to take away that there is a Savior, that He loves us and will do whatever is necessary to win us to Him.”

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